US Salt Intake Drops Slightly, But Americans Still Eat Too Much

Below:

Next story in Science

The amount of sodium Americans consume has decreased very
slightly over the last decade, but most people still eat too much
of the stuff, according to a new report from the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention.

On average, Americans consumed 3,424 milligrams of sodium per day
during 2009 and 2010, which is down slightly from the 3,518 mg
per day they consumed on average during 2003 and 2004, according
to the report, which looked at people older than age 1.

The
U.S. dietary guidelines recommend people limit the salt in
their diet to 2,300 milligrams per day. And for 6 out of every 10
adults, the recommended limit is substantially lower: those who
are 51 years or older, African-American, have high blood
pressure, diabetes or chronic kidney diseases are advised to
limit their sodium intake to 1,500 milligrams per day.

The small decrease in sodium intake seen in the study may have
actually been due to people eating fewer calories overall in a
day, rather than eating foods with less sodium, the researchers
said. (The amount of sodium consumed per calorie did not
decrease between 2003-2004 and 2009-2010, according to the
study.)

In order to accelerate reductions in sodium intake, public health
officials may want to couple efforts to reduce obesity (which
involves reducing calorie intake) with efforts to reduce sodium
intake per calorie, the researchers said. Efforts to reduce
sodium in school lunches, as well as in packaged and restaurant
foods, may also aid in progress toward an overall reduction in
sodium intake.

"Even a 400-mg reduction in mean U.S. sodium intake might save
billions of health-care dollars," the researchers wrote in the
Dec. 20 issue of the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

Excess sodium intake can lead to high blood pressure, which is a
risk factor for
heart disease, the researchers said.